Bird for PVC Flutes

thingiverse

NA Flute bird: There are many NA (Native American) style flute designs on the web, with a wide variety of materials and techniques. While far from ‘traditional’ designs, the easiest format for youthful experiment is to use 3/4” PVC Schedule 40 plastic plumbing tubing with drilled holes for finger stops and the sound system. Complete directions are available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=misjPOhd-9o The PVC can be handled with a small saw, some tape, a ruler and a drill press (or hand drill) using a sharp pencil. However, the air holes have to be carved to final dimension with a small, sharp hobby knife, which is not suitable for working with youngsters, like camp or craft demos. Also, this format requires a small wooden “bird” that redirects the air from one air hole and forms it into a ‘laminar air flow with some Bernoulli compression’. The bird gives a flute that does not depend on careful lip placement or muscle control. Birds can be carved in soft wood (pine, cedar, basswood) with a very sharp 1/4” chisel and a lot of careful work. However, many characteristics of the flute depend on the bird and some very small dimensions. As you play, it absorbs moisture from your breath, which is one more variable. The bird is placed and tied with tight wraps of string, but it is still easy to move around and break. Sounder: One issue with this flute design is cutting the sharp edge in the lower air hole of the sounder section. If you could simply drill the 2 holes and glue in a 3D printed sounder, the need for sharp knives is almost eliminated! This is especially attractive for crafting flutes in camp craft settings! Use the HF center drill set (item #60381) that will drill a 3/16” and 1/2” diameter holes into the plastic. Drill the small size into pencil marks that are exactly 20 mm apart (55 mm and 75 mm from the end of the flute), then enlarge with the 1/2” drill. Very light pressure is required and the bits have almost no flutes to spin the plastic tube (or drill thru the other side of the tube).